Blood sample collection apparatus



United States Patent 3,017,050 BLOOD SAMPLE COLLECTION APPARATUSCourtlandH. Barr, Sr., Courtland H. Barr, Jr., and John W. .Barr, allof,1600 N. Bonnie Beach Place, Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Jan. 10, 1955, S61. No. 480,989

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 215-48) This invention relates to apparatus for thecollection of blood samples and has particular reference to improvedapparatus used in drawing or otherwise collecting blood from veins.

Conventional practices in the collection of blood samples from livesubjects include the use of an evacuated tube or vial closed at one endby a stopper of rubber or other resilient material adapted to be piercedby a cannula or hollow needle which is either directly or indirectly incommunication with a vein of the patient. The stopper is generallyformed with an inner axial recess extending partially from the lower endthereof and in many cases a similar recess extends downwardly from thetop of the stopper. In either event, a diaphragm is thus formed in thestopper, the primary purpose of the diaphragm being to present areduced-thickness portion permitting ready insertion of the needletherethrough. Such stoppers are disadvantageous from the standpoint thata portion of the blood in the vial tends to collect in the inner recessand upon opening of the vial by removal of the stopper this blood oftenspatters the working area with droplets, generally spotting the clothesof the user or other surrounding surfaces. Another disadvantage ofstoppers which include the top recess is that dust, dirt and otherforeign particles settle therein and such foreign particles aredifficult if not impossible to remove, thus resulting in a condition ofexisting or potential contamination.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a novelblood sample collection apparatus which is not subject to these andother disadvantages of the apparatus of the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel blood samplecollection apparatus and more particularly a novel stopper therefor, thestopper being provided with a reduced-thickness area but havingsubstantially smooth top and bottom surfaces.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will bereadily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, takensubstantially on the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of thestopper of this invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus of this invention includesa tube or vial 10, preferably of glass, having a closed bottom end 11,the top open end 13 being closed by a stopper 15. Preferably the openend 13 is of slightly reduced diameter providing a circumferentialshoulder 16.

The stopper 15 is made of rubber or rubber-like material of suitablecomposition and has a flanged head portion 17 overlying the end of thevial 10. The periphery 18 of the head portion is fluted and a tabportion 20 extends from the head portion, providing a means forfacilitating removal and handling of the stopper. Integral with the headportion 16 is a body portion 21 which extends into the open end of thevial, the diameter of the body portion being somewhat larger than theinside diameter of the vial so that the body portion is undercompression when inserted into the vial as shown. The lower end of thebody portion is bevelled as at 25 to facilitate assembly of the stopperand the vial. A plurality of longitudinal grooves 26 are provided on theperiphery of the body portion to permit evacuation of the vial in thecustomary manner with the stopper lightly resting in the vial.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the bottom surface 27 of the body portion issubstantially planar and is imperforate, having no recess therein as isthe case with conventional stoppers utilized in such apparatus.

The head portion 16 is provided with a central recess extendingdownwardly from the top thereof a substantial distance into the bodyportion. The uppermost portion 31 of the recess is substantiallycylindrical, the intermediate portion 32 is tapered or frusto-conical inshape and the lowermost portion 33 is also substantially cylindrical butsmaller in diameter than the portion 31. The wall forming the portion 32is provided with a pair of spaced circumferential grooves 35. Insertedinto the recess 30 is a plug member 40 shaped in conformity with therecess and thus having a cylindrical head portion 41 and afrusto-conical body portion 42 provided with circumferential beads 43.The bottom of the body portion 41 is provided with a central recess 45which communicates with the lowermost portion 33 of the head portionrecess, thus forming a central void in the stopper. The top surface ofthe plug member 40 is provided with a central annular bead 50, whichserves merely as a locator for the proper positioning of the needle (notshown) used in collecting the blood sample.

From the description thus far, it will be understood that an improvedstopper and vial assembly for blood sample collecting has been provided.The stopper is so designed as to avoid the customary upper and lowerrecesses which are troublesome from the standpoint of sterilitymaintenance and of pick-up of blood with the resulting spattering ofdroplets thereof when opened. The stopper is provided with a centralvoid, made possible by the recessed plug member, reducing the etfectivethickness of rubber through which the needle must be inserted. Withoutsuch a void it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, topierce the stopper with the needle.

It will be noted that the upturned beads 43 on the plug member 40cooperate with the upturned grooves 35 to form locking means to preventremoval of the plug member from the stopper proper once the two partshave been assembled as shown. Additionally, it has been found that thetemperature of about 250 R, which is required for proper sterilizationof the assembled apparatus, is sufiicient to cause vulcanization of theplug member and stopper, a further assurance against accidentaldisassembly. Additionally, due to compression of the rubber of the plugmember and this vulcanization, the plug member is effectively sealed inplace so that the top of the stopper is in fact imperforate.

While we have fully described preferred embodiments of our invention, itis to be understood that we do not wish to be limited to the detailsherein set forth, but our invention is of the full scope of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. In a blood sample collection apparatus, a stopper of resilientself-sealing material, said stopper having a frustoconical centralrecess extending downwardly from the top thereof, the bottom of saidstopper being imperforate, a frusto-conical plug member of resilientmaterial seated in sealing relation with said stopper in said recess,the lower portion of said plug member terminating short of the bottom ofsaid recess whereby a central void is formed in said stopper, and meansfor locking said plug member to said stopper, said means including anupturned circumferential bead on the periphery of said plug cooperating3 with an upturned circumferential groove in said central recess.

2. In a blood sample collection apparatus, a stopper of materialselected from the group consisting of rubber and rubber-likeself-sealing materials, said stopper having a frusto-conical centralrecess extending downwardly from the top thereof and spaced asubstantial distance from the bottom of said stopper, the bottom of saidstopper being imperforate, a frusto-conical plug member of resilientmaterial seated in vulcanized relation with said stopper in said recess,the lower portion of said plug member terminating short of the bottom ofsaid recess whereby a central void is formed in said stopper, and meansReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS656,698 Marchand Aug. 28, 1900 2,222,371 Nesset Nov. 19, 1940 2,289,677Perelson July 14, 1942 2,442,983 Nesset June 8, 1948 2,549,404 WilliamsApr. 17, 1951 2,628,264 Esher Feb. 10, 1953

